Went to Nojo in Hayes Valley for a bowl of ramen after a Saturday afternoon show at the SFJAZZ Center, which is on the same block. Was very crowded even at around 5:30 on Saturday, and the line was even bigger when I left.

I had the Chicken Paitan Soy Sauce ramen ($18.50), which has a whole chicken leg, half a soft boiled egg, black garlic oil, lots of scallions and garlic chives, and a little mound of chopped red onion. Also had some fried gobo (burdock root).

It was really good. The broth was milky white with a layer of the black garlic oil on top, and very thick with collagen. Sticks to your lips. It had the flavor of salty roasted chicken mixed with something like a tonkotsu broth. The chicken was fall apart tender and still had the skin on, which was coated with whatever sauce they marinaded it with. The generous amounts of scallion, chives, and crunchy red onion and fried burdock strips kept the broth from dominating everything. Noodles were good and chewy. Egg was properly runny.

Thanks for the review! But yikes, is high teens now the new normal for ramen ? For a while I thought its only Ramen Shop that is doing this price range. I heard the new Hinodeya is doing also a chicken paitan. I looked up their menu. $18!!!